Deck 2: Strategic Planning

Question 1

Which strategic planning begins by performing a situation analysis to identify an organization's strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats?

A)Issues-based strategic planning
B)Goals-based strategic planning
C)Organic strategic planning
D)Contingency strategic planning

Answer 1

B

Question 2

_____ strategic planning begins by identifying and analyzing key problems that face the organization,setting strategies to address those problems,and identifying projects and initiatives that are consistent with those strategies.

A)Organic
B)Issues-based
C)Goals-based
D)Contingency

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Identify the type of planning used to develop multiple-year plans based on a situational analysis,competitive assessments,and external factors of the organization.

A)Operational planning
B)Functional planning
C)Strategic planning
D)Contingency planning

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The _____ of an organization makes long-term decisions and has an ultimate responsibility for strategic planning.

A)chief executive officer (CEO)
B)chief information officer (CIO)
C)chief financial officer (CFO)
D)chief technical officer (CTO)

Question 5

Which planning requires a careful study of the external environment surrounding the organization and assessing where the organization fits within it?

A)Operational planning
B)Contingency planning
C)Functional planning
D)Strategic planning

Question 6

Which of the following models is used to assess the nature of industry competition?

A)Porter's Five Forces Model
B)McKinsey 7S model
C)Pareto analysis
D)DuPont analysis

Question 7

A _____ communicates an organization's overarching aspirations to guide it through changing objectives,goals,and strategies.

A)SWOT matrix
B)vision/mission statement
C)core statement
D)periodic matrix

Question 8

Identify a factor that determines the level of competition and long-term profitability of an industry.

A)The degree of rivalry between competitors is low in industries with many equally sized competitors.
B)The threat of substitute products can increase the profitability of industry competitors.
C)The bargaining power of suppliers doesn't affect the industry's profitability.
D)The threat of new competitors raises the level of competition.

Question 9

Which of the following statements defines an organization's fundamental purpose for existing?

A)Mission statement
B)Vision statement
C)Design statement
D)Structured statement

Question 10

Identify a benefit of strategic planning.

A)Provides steps to increase the effective capacity of the operation to meet the requirements
B)Provides developed steps to identify inefficiencies in the operation and production sector of an organization
C)Provides control mechanisms to assure effective implementation of the actions at the middle or lower level of management
D)Provides a framework and a clearly defined direction to guide decision making at all levels throughout the organization

Question 11

What is the key function of organic strategic planning?

A)To define an organization's vision and values
B)To identify and analyze key issues faced by an organization
C)To perform SWOT (strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats)analysis of an organization
D)To prepare a historical perspective that summarizes an organization's development

Question 12

_____ improves communication among management and the board of directors,shareholders,and other interested parties in an organization.

A)Tactical planning
B)Strategic planning
C)Operational planning
D)Contingency planning

Question 13

A _____is used for the analysis of the internal assessment and external environment of the firm.

A)SWOT matrix
B)transpose matrix
C)XOR matrix
D)scalar matrix

Question 14

During which phase of goals-based strategic planning,a multitude of data is gathered about internal processes and operations,including survey data from customers and suppliers and other objective assessments of an organization?

A)Analyze situation phase
B)Set direction phase
C)Define strategies phase
D)Deploy plan phase

Question 15

An organization's _____ is a concise statement of what the organization intends to achieve in the future.

A)objective
B)mission
C)vision
D)logo

Question 16

_____ identify a few widely accepted principles that guide how people behave and make decisions in the organization.

A)Vision statements
B)Mission statements
C)Core values
D)Goals

Question 17

Which of the following phases of goals-based strategic planning defines the mission,vision,values,objectives,and goals of an organization?

A)Situation analyzing phase
B)Direction setting phase
C)Strategy defining phase
D)Plan deploying phase

Question 18

Which of the following is an excellent way to begin the first phase of strategic planning?

A)To track the progress of organization's goals and objectives
B)To create a set of strategies that will garner committed supporters across the organization
C)To identify and analyze key issues faced by the organization
D)To prepare a historical perspective that summarizes the organization's development

Question 19

Identify the strategic planning whose major phases include analyzing the situation,setting direction,defining strategies,and deploying plan.

A)Organic strategic planning
B)Issues-based strategic planning
C)Goals-based strategic planning
D)Contingency strategic planning

Question 20

_____ is a process that helps managers identify desired outcomes and formulate feasible plans to achieve their objectives by using available resources and capabilities.

A)Strategic planning
B)Functional planning
C)Operational planning
D)Contingency planning

Question 21

The strategic planning process for an information technology organization and the factors that influence it depend on:

A)how the organization is perceived by the rest of the organization.
B)the amount of autonomy granted to the lower-level units.
C)the leadership style and capabilities of the managers in charge of each unit.
D)how the organization sets its strategies and objectives.

Question 22

A(n)_____ describes how an organization will achieve its vision,mission,objectives,and goals.

A)strategy
B)result
C)operation
D)process

Question 23

Which of the following project types implements changes to an existing system to enable operation in a different technology environment?

A)Enhancement
B)Innovation
C)Maintenance
D)Innovation

Question 24

When the strategic planning process of an organization is directed inward,the IT organization is viewed as a _____.

A)cost center/service provider
B)business partner
C)game changer
D)dealer

Question 25

Which of the following project types involves high cost,very high risk of failure,and potential business disruption?

A)Breakthrough
B)Maintenance
C)Enhancement
D)Mandatory

Question 26

_____ is a project type that upgrades an existing system to provide new capabilities that meet new business needs.

A)Enhancement
B)Mandatory
C)Innovation
D)Breakthrough

Question 27

_____ are easy to understand,easy to track,and contribute real value to the organization.

A)Mission statements
B)SMART goals
C)Core values
D)Taglines

Question 28

When the strategic planning process of an organization is directed outward,the IT organization is viewed as a _____.

A)cost center provider
B)business partner
C)game changer
D)service provider

Question 29

Identify a project type that generates substantial new revenue or profits for the firm.

A)Breakthrough
B)Enhancement
C)Maintenance
D)Growth

Question 30

_____ may be daunting and perhaps risky,but the challenge of it grabs people in the gut and gets their juices flowing and creates tremendous forward momentum.Such goals are achieved through a breakthrough in the organization's products or services.

A)BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
B)SMART (Specific,Measurable,Achievable,Relevant,Time constrained)goals
C)Business efficiency goals
D)Short-term goals

Question 31

Identify the type of project that manages the risks involved in it by setting cost limits,establishing an end date,and defining criteria for success.

A)Enhancement
B)Maintenance
C)Innovation
D)Mandatory

Question 32

Which of the following goals use action verbs and have a much greater chance of being understood and accomplished?

A)Vague goals
B)Specific goals
C)Generalized goals
D)Measurable goals

Question 33

Identify a project type that meets the requirements of a legal entity or regulatory agency.

A)Mandatory
B)Enhancement
C)Innovation
D)Breakthrough

Question 34

_____ track progress in meeting an organization's objectives and help managers determine if a specific objective is being achieved.

A)Goals
B)Taglines
C)Headlines
D)Results

Question 35

Which project type creates a competitive advantage that enables the organization to earn a greater than normal return on investment than its competitors?

A)Innovation
B)Breakthrough
C)Enhancement
D)Maintenance

Question 36

A _____ is a specific result that must be achieved to reach an objective.

A)tagline
B)mission
C)vision
D)goal

Question 37

_____ goals contains numeric or descriptive measures that define criteria such as quantity and cost so that progress toward meeting the goal can be determined.

A)Measurable
B)Specific
C)Generalized
D)Vague

Question 38

A(n)_____ is a statement of a compelling business need that an organization must meet to achieve its vision and mission.

A)mission
B)objective
C)tagline
D)logo

Question 39

Identify a frequently used theme by an organization in setting strategies.

A)Decrease customer preferences
B)Decrease revenue
C)Attract and retain new customers
D)Increase delivery time

Question 40

Which project type explores the use of technology (or a new technology)in a new way?

A)Breakthrough
B)Mandatory
C)Innovation
D)Maintenance

Question 41

Intangible benefits cannot directly be measured and cannot easily be quantified in monetary terms.

Question 42

Which of the following is true about intangible benefits?

A)They can be measured directly.
B)They cannot be measured directly.
C)They are assigned a monetary value.
D)They can be quantified in monetary terms.

Question 43

An effective strategy derives from maximizing a firm's strengths and opportunities and minimizing its weaknesses and threats.

Question 44

_____ benefits can be measured directly and assigned a monetary value.

A)Tangible
B)Intangible
C)Abstract
D)Conceptual

Question 45

The threat of substitute products can boost the profitability of an organization's competitors.

Question 46

Describe SWOT matrix.

Question 47

Intangible benefits can be measured directly and assigned a monetary value.

Question 48

The entire burden of achieving alignment between the business and information technology (IT)is placed solely on the IT organization.

Question 49

The goal of an organization states what must be accomplished,and the associated objectives specify how to determine whether the goal is being met.

Question 50

List out three benefits of strategic planning.

Question 51

Which of the following is an example of tangible benefits?

A)Decrease in staffing costs
B)Customer satisfaction
C)Customer service
D)Vendor relationship

Question 52

An organization's vision/mission statement forms the foundation for making decisions and taking action.

Question 53

The degree of rivalry between competitors is high in industries with many equally sized competitors.

Question 54

Describe the various strategic planning approaches.

Question 55

Distinguish between the objective and goal of an organization.

Question 56

Identify an example of intangible benefits.

A)Increase in salary
B)Increase in allowance
C)Increase in the number of staff
D)Increase in customer satisfaction

Question 57

The strategic plan must take into account that the organization and everything around it is changing.

Question 58

In an organization,the internal assessment identifies most of the opportunities and threats.